'Nobody knows me' - qualifier Chwalinska into French Open quarters

“Honestly, nobody knows me.” Yet, Poland’s Maja Chwalinska is likely only a handful of victories away from changing that narrative permanently. The 24-year-old has made history by becoming the first qualifier to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals at the French Open in six years, dispatching French hopeful Diane Parry with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 victory.

After navigating three qualifying rounds to earn her main-draw debut at Roland Garros, a visibly stunned Chwalinska shook her head in disbelief following her win on Court Philippe Chatrier. Before this tournament, the world number 114 had secured only two main-draw matches on clay throughout her career and held a solitary Grand Slam win—at Wimbledon in 2022—across just two major appearances. However, her form at Roland Garros has been impeccable; she has won all seven matches since qualifying began two weeks ago, winning six of them in straight sets. This impressive run is projected to push her into the world’s top 50.

“I certainly didn’t anticipate this,” Chwalinska told the spectators. “I am simply incredibly grateful to be here.”

Chwalinska’s journey has been particularly poignant given her hiatus from tennis in 2021, during which she battled depression and questioned whether she would ever return to the sport. She is now poised to become only the second qualifier in the Open era to reach the Roland Garros women’s semi-finals, following Nadia Podoroska’s feat in 2020.

Her next opponent is Russian 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka potentially waiting in the final four. Reflecting on the upcoming challenge, Chwalinska remarked, “She is among the elite players globally. As I said, nobody knows me, to be honest. It is definitely another very difficult match, much like every contest here. I must play my absolute best tennis if I want to win.”

Kalinskaya advanced to the quarter-finals after enduring a grueling 2-hour and 49-minute battle against Russian-born Austrian Anastasia Potapova. The 27-year-old survived a rollercoaster match, winning 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10-7) in a deciding tie-break. Potapova had served for the match twice, forcing Kalinskaya to break back, and even held a 4-1 lead in the super tie-break before collapsing. This marks only Kalinskaya’s second major quarter-final.

In other late results, American world number 19 Madison Keys was eliminated after suffering a three-set defeat to Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider. The 2025 Australian Open champion fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to the 22-year-old Shnaider, who is reaching her first Slam quarter-final. Shnaider will now face world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who secured her spot in the last eight with a straight-sets victory over four-time major champion Naomi Osaka.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-01 20:59:47 UTC